| | | From Rags to Riches...to Rags.
Features: DVD, English, French, Widescreen, Dolby Digital (5.1)
That wild and crazy guy, Steve Martin, makes his film-starring debut in the wacky comedy hit The Jerk. Steve plays Navin Johnson, the adopted son of a poor black sharecropper family, whose crazy inventions lead him from rags to riches'right back to rags. Steve propels Navin through a string of misadventures - becoming smitten with a lady motorcycle racer, surviving a series of screwball attacks by a deranged killer, and becoming a millionaire by inventing the "Opti-grab" handle for eyeglasses - and shows why he's one of the hottest comic performers in the world!
"...Martin is at the height of his comic powers in this very un-PC comedy." Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com
"Some very funny moments..." Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide
"Martin's first starring role, back in his wild and crazy days..." VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever
Editor's Note
Navin Johnson, a none-too-bright white boy raised by a family of black sharecroppers, somehow manages to reach adulthood without ever discovering he was adopted. His parents finally tell him the truth on his birthday and, shocked by the news, he decides to head off to the big city to seek his fortune. Although he embarks on his odyssey with Candide-like optimism, Navin soon learns the cruel ways of the world as his crazy invention--a device to stop one's glasses from sliding--leads him from rags to riches and back to rags. Steve Martin is riotous in this no-holds-barred broad slapstick comedy, with Bernadette Peters playing his accepting love interest. Jackie Mason, M. Emmet Walsh, and Bill Macy are excellent in small roles, but the focus is always on Martin, who is at his goofy best in a film loaded with hysterical sight gags and a dog whose name cannot be said on television.
| Features | Audio: English Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 Surround Sound | | Audio: French Dolby Digital Stereo | | Dubbed: French | | Interactive Menus | | Scene Selection | | Subtitles: English, French | | This Is An HD-DVD Made For HD-DVD Format Players Which Produce Higher Quality Picture And Sound |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Universal |
| Release Date: 4/17/2007 |
| Running Time: 94 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1979 | | Catalog ID: 61101158 | | UPC: 00025195009720 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English | | Available Subtitles: English, French | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | Widescreen 1.85:1 |
| Cast & Crew | Bernadette Peters | | Catlin Adams | | Mabel King | | Steve Martin | | Bud Molin - Editor | | Carl Gottlieb - Based On Story By | | Carl Reiner - Director | | David V. Picker, et. al. - Producer | | Jack Elliott - Original Music By | | Jack T. Collis - Production Designer | | Steve Martin - Based On Story By | | Steve Martin, et. al. - Writer | | Victor J. Kemper - Cinematographer |
| Memorable Quotes| "I was born a poor black child."----Navin Johnson (Steve Martin), narrating the story of his life | | "He hates these cans!"----Navin, fleeing a madman (M. Emmet Walsh) with a gun |
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| | Professional Reviews | New York Times
"...Martin proves himself -- often hilariously -- to be nobody's fool....Funny, vulgar and backhandedly clever..." 12/14/1979 p.C12Total Film
"...Martin's first major lead is a wonderfully excessive line-up of physical gags and puerile, sitcom-style set-pieces..." 03/01/2001 p.95 Premiere
"[The film] uses many of the bits Martin was doing in his standup act at the time." 04/01/2004 p.60 Entertainment Weekly
"[Martin] earned leading-man status in this un-PC classic..." 07/29/2005 p.54 Variety 9 of 10
Pic is an artless, non-stop barrage of off-the-wall situations, funny and unfunny jokes, generally effective and sometimes hilarious sight gags and bawdy non sequiturs...The premise of The Jerk can be found in one of Steve Martin's more famous routines. Upon receiving the stunning news that he's the adopted, not natural, son of black parents Martin leaves home with his dog to make his way in the world. Opening sequences with the family are among the best...Martin's odyssey through contemporary America sees him taking odd jobs, such as a gas station attendant for proprietor Jackie Mason and as the driver of an amusement park train, and taking up with women...But lunacy is never strayed from very far, as Martin strikes it rich as the inventor of a ridiculous nose support device for eyeglasses. Hilarity ebbs during his decline and fall.
FilmCritic.com 8 of 10
One of Steve Martin's proto-characters, The Jerk isn't quite what his name suggests, he's really more of an idiot than a jerk. "Born a poor black man," the film follows his misadventures from the sharecrop farm to the big city, the circus, Hollywood, and ultimately fabulous wealth and bankruptcy, oblivious all the way. Ultimately he really does turn from sheer ignorant to wilfully awful, so maybe he's a jerk too... but that's beside the point. Martin's one-liners are pretty funny, very dry, and awfully quotable. Bernadette Peters, as the love of his life, appears in one of her most memorable roles, too. - Christopher Null
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